Viruses

Question 1

What are viruses?

Answer 1

Viruses are acellular, non living particles

Question 2

Are viruses considered living or nonliving? Why are viruses considered in this way?

Answer 2

Viruses are considered non living. This is because they do not grow or replicate by themselves

Question 3

How do viruses replicate? The replication of viruses makes it difficult to destroy them, why?

Answer 3

Viruses replicate inside cells, this makes them difficult to destroy without harming the host cell

Question 4

Why are viruses untreatable with antibiotics?

Answer 4

Viruses are untreatable with antibiotics because they do not have cell walls. For example, bacteria have cell walls so when antibiotics are administered they attack the cell wall. However viruses have a protective protein coating that antibiotics cannot attack.

Question 4

Viruses are described as acellular, what does this mean?

Answer 4

This means that viruses lack most components of other cells

Question 5

How small is a virus?

Answer 5

Viruses are small, smaller than bacteria, ranging from 20 - 300nm

Question 6

What are some viruses surrounded by that other viruses are not?

Answer 6

Some viruses are surrounded by a lipid envelope

Question 7

What do all viruses have on their capsid/lipid envelope?

Answer 7

Viruses have attachment proteins which are essential to allow the virus to identify and attach to a host cell